Swiss speciality chemicals maker Clariant raised its 2024 margin guidance on Tuesday, citing a strong half-year performance and a reduced financial impact from the downsizing of its sunliquid bioethanol production.

The company forecast a core profit (EBITDA) margin of 16% for the full year, having expected around 15% originally.

It reported an EBITDA margin of 16.4% for the first half of the year.

While the inflationary environment has continued to ease, Clariant sees "no signs of a broad market recovery in the second half of the year", CEO Conrad Keijzer said in a statement.

After a period of higher energy and raw material prices, chemical companies such as Clariant and Wacker Chemie have flagged signs of them easing in recent months.

Clariant reported second-quarter sales of 1.06 billion Swiss francs ($1.20 billion), roughly in line with analysts' expectations in a Vara Research poll, but down 3% organically from the same period last year.

The Swiss group said sales growth in its care chemicals and adsorbents and additives divisions was offset by an expected decline in its catalysts business.

(Reporting by Chiara Holzhaeuser and Antonis Pothitos in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)